At this point in time, we're sure that SilverStone engineers are aware of the Radeon HD 5970 installation oversight and have considered a solution for enthusiast customers. Indeed, the company has not only designed a better installation solution for Radeon HD 5970 owners, it has also engineered a more efficient ambient heat extraction method at the same time.

Meet the SilverStone Air Penetrator 180mm SST-AP181, a revolutionary fan so unique in design, slim form factor and unmatched efficiency that it could serve the perfect role as any intake case fan or high-density radiator solution. The company

back in May using a smoke machine to show its competitive edge over leading chassis fans in the industry. Best of all, the new fans feature up to 2.45mm H2O static air pressure opposed to 0.98mm H2O static air pressure with the FN181 fans included in the Raven RV02 and Fortress FT02.

SilverStone’s new Air Penetrator SST-AP181 intake fan has been exclusively designed with the goal of focusing airflow into a spiral column that can be “channeled through various obstacles inside the modern computer case for more efficient cooling performance.” As KitGuru recently noted in their thoroughly explained SST-AP181 review, the concept and design motives are in place to ensure that the unique blades and grills on the Air Penetrator can create enough pressure to push air as far as one meter away with minimal speed and noise. SilverStone is pushing this new enthusiast-grade fan as a perfectly capable high airflow unit for supplementing high-density heatsinks and radiators.

SilverStone's Air Penetrator AP121 spiral column airflow design

Real-world

While we certainly appreciate the idea that SilverStone included three of its older FN181 fans with the Fortress FT02 in an engineering effort to maximize positive airflow, we must certainly admit that overall cooling performance strongly benefits from the improved SST-AP181 design. Meanwhile, the company also included a fourth 120mm fan resting right above the CPU socket exhaust area. This fan utilizes golf blades for exceptional quietness with emphasis on maximizing positive air pressure. In the game of golf, the dimples of a golf ball serve to reduce drag and air resistance on the ball, thereby giving a longer drive. Likewise, the golf blade design of this 120mm ceiling fan allows for a greater amount of heat to dissipate from vital components and lowers overall ambient CPU temperatures. Consequently, it is the only fan on the entire chassis that does not have a dust filter as it does not require one.